


In a Tick

by ashamtly



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Gen, Keith (Voltron)-centric, Other characters only mentioned, Post-Finale, probably?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 11:15:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15795372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashamtly/pseuds/ashamtly
Summary: After they had finally taken care of the Galra Empire, there had been the reconstruction efforts, the negotiations, diplomatic missions, taking care of the few cells still living by Zarkons ideology, etc.So..., no one could be blamed for not noticing how... while Pidge grew into the amazing woman they all knew she would become, Lance got a stubble and Hunk some wrinkles, Keith..., Keith remained pretty much the same.





	In a Tick

**Author's Note:**

> Me again, with another angst fic (because apparently, I can't write anything else).  
> I made the question on tumblr about Galra and Altean lifespan before writing this because I wasn't sure about it, so if I'm wrong well... let's just pretend for the sake of the story that Alteans and Galras do live way longer than other species, say humans.  
> Once again I'm still not very good at writing, English is not my first language and I have no beta whatsoever.

He walks across the land that gave birth to the paladins of old, not the first ones, but definitely the legendary ones; and wonders... what would they think about what Earth has become?

Not because it's terrible, but... because the planet is so far now from what it used to be that less than half of the population remains human.

 

-Is not that bad- he speaks to the Lion's Pride Monument -The technology they have now would have kept you Pidge awake for hours, and the ingredients people can cook with nowadays Hunk are pride and joy of the planet, and Lance, there are all kinds of beauty kits that you wouldn't believe...- he lets his head fall against the monument and takes a deep breath -I know that Allura does- he says sadly, not quite managing to mask his feelings.

 

One would think that after all this Deca-Phoebs, he would have gotten the hang of this, but he hasn't, every time he visits is the same; their lost feels like it was just a few Phoebs ago.

 

-She's doing ok you know- he tries to continue with a cheery tone, none of them would have believed he was capable of using -Or at least, that's what they told me; I haven't been able to visit her in a while- he pauses thinking it through -No, that's not right. I haven't wanted to visit her for a while now- he confesses, unable to look at that gravestone anymore while closing his eyes, almost as strongly as the fists of his hands.

-Last thing I heard they said...- he breaths in deeply, trying to keep it together -they said... she didn't... they said she didn't have much time left- he finally manages to say shallowing the sob he feels about to scape.

 

 _ **It wasn't fair**_ , Alteans were supposed to live longer than that. I wasn't fair, Allura was supposed to be the one to outlive him, it wasn't fair that after he had already lost them after he had already lost his mother after he had already lost Shi...

 

It wasn't fair but...  


-when has it ever been...- he whispered to himself.

 

At first, they hadn't notice, they were in the middle of a war and about to put end to an empire that had terrorized most of the known universe for 10,000 years, so... there was no way to notice it.

Besides the other paladins (not counting Shiro) had been younger than they should have been by Earth standards, so... he figures everyone though time was wonky in space, which wasn't entirely wrong if you considered space-time disturbances.

After they had finally taken care of the Galra Empire, there had been the reconstruction efforts, the negotiations, diplomatic missions, taking care of the few cells still living by Zarkons ideology, etc.

So..., no one could be blamed for not noticing how... while Pidge grew into the amazing woman they all knew she would become, Lance got a stubble and Hunk some wrinkles, Keith..., Keith remained pretty much the same.

A little more scarred, after every high-risk mission, but essentially the same.

It wasn't 'till Lance started panicking about his first white hairs, that they noticed...

 

_"Dude! How come you haven't aged at all in this 20 years?!"_

 

At first, he had just laughed it off, thinking Lance was just being his usual dramatic self, 'til...

 

_"Seriously Keith, haven't you seen yourself on a mirror?"_

 

He hadn't, which is why he didn't notice. 'Cause unlike Lance, he had never care much for his appearance, something he had made sure to remind Shiro time and time again whenever he saw him look guiltily at the scar on his face.

He hadn't notice, 'cause he hadn't really had much use for a mirror since even after the war and all the reconstruction and peace efforts, he had continued fighting, protecting the universe.

 

_"It's in your blood" his mother had told him. "We Galra are essentially a warring species"._

 

Afer that, it stuck out like a sore thumb, records, and pictures of every important reunion, Lance's and Allura's wedding, Hunk's firstborn, Katie's first date, Shiro's promotion, all of them with Keith, Shiro and Allura basically looking the same.

 

_"It's not really that surprising number 4, Galra's just like Altean´s are long-lived species"_

 

 **But I'm just half Galra!** he had wanted to shout, unable to reconcile the fact that of all the paladins apparently, he would be the one to live the longest.

 

He watched them age and withered, getting wrinkles and white hairs, complaining about sore muscles, aching bones, and whatnot; no longer able to click, to connect with them.

So he started taking more and more missions, riskier and riskier, farther and farther, longer and longer (not that he noticed how long they really lasted).

 

_"Are you trying to kill yourself?! Keith what was up with that? You completely disregarded my orders"_

_"You still have me, you still have Krollia, Coran, Romelle, and Allura. You still have them, Keith"_

 

And he did, so he tried his best, but it was difficult 'cause in what seemed like a tick, they were gone.

 

-It's funny you know, 'cause I always thought that of all of us, I'd be the first one to go-

 

Except it wasn't 'cause a few Phoebs or Deca-Phoebs later (it became more and more difficult to tell), they found out that though Shiro seemed to be a kind of Altean/Galra/Human hybrid, due to all the trauma and quintessence it took to transform Atlas, he wouldn´t be living nearly as long as Allura or Keith himself.

 

-You're almost all gone now- he whispered to himself.

 

He lost Krolia, his mother what seemed to him like a few Doboshes later, and Coran later on, when they discovered that the 10,000 Deca-Phoebs in cryosleep did nothing to prolong his or Allura's life at all...

 

As for Romelle...

 

-It figures right, that Galra hybrids would tend to live longer than pure Galra´s themselves- he laughed without humor -Acxa says that their lifespan will usually depend on the race they mix with, and since I'm the first Human/Galra hybrid...-

-They still don't know how much longer I'm supposed to live Shiro- he cried in anguish -How much longer I'm supposed to do this- he exploded quietly hitting at the ground.

-Keith...- he heard a woman's voice call his name from far away, so he scrambled to his feet and got away before she could properly see him.

 

If the others could see him now, they would be surprised to find their head first into danger leader, running away from a girl.

But he simply couldn't face her, 'cause in the end..., in the end, she would also be gone, like all of them.

Just in a tick.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So that's pretty much it.  
> Again somehow depressive and vague but well... hope you liked it?  
> I think I really need to start trying to write less depressive stuff


End file.
